(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a surgical fastener apparatus that dispenses a fastener reinforcing material, and the method of using the apparatus. In particular, the present invention pertains to a surgical stapler having a reinforcement material holder, where the holder positions a sheet of reinforcement material adjacent body tissue that is sutured by a plurality of surgical staples dispensed by the apparatus.
(2) Description of the Related Art
A variety of different types of surgical staplers have been developed to assist surgeons by reducing the time required for placing a line of sutures in body tissue. Surgical staplers have been designed for use in open incision surgery, as well as in laparoscopic surgery. Examples of these staplers are shown in the Williamson, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,415,334, and the Francis U.S. Pat. No. 5,752,965, et al. both of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Surgical staplers used in both open incision surgery and in laparoscopic surgery have several common features. The staplers typically include a pair of opposed, movable jaws. One of the jaws functions as a staple dispensing member, and the opposite jaw functions as a staple receiving and staple altering member.
The staple dispensing member supports a plurality of surgical staples that are arranged in at least two rows that extend along the length of the dispensing member. When operated by the surgeon, the staple dispensing member ejects the staples into body tissue to be sutured, thereby forming parallel lines of sutures through the body tissue.
The staple receiving member has a plurality of anvil surface areas that are positioned opposite the staples on the staple dispensing member. The anvil surfaces are adapted to engage the ends of staples ejected by the staple dispensing member, and to alter or bend the staple ends, thereby securing a staple sutures in body tissue.
In the typical surgical stapler, the staple dispensing member and the staple receiving member are held together by a mechanical connection that allows relative movement between the two members, for example a pivot connection. This connection enables the staple dispensing member and the staple receiving member to move toward each other when the surgical stapler is used, closing a portion of body tissue to receive the surgical staplers between the dispensing member and the receiving member. As the dispensing member and the receiving member come together on opposite sides of the body tissue, the surgical staples are ejected from the dispensing member, through the body tissue, and the ends of the staples engage against the anvil surfaces of the receiving member which alter or deform the staple ends and secure the staple sutures in the body tissue.
The typical surgical stapler also includes a cutter that cuts along a line through the body tissue that has been sutured by the surgical stapler. The cutter is positioned so that the cut line through the body tissue has pluralities of staple sutures formed along opposite sides of the cut line. In this manner, the surgical stapler provides a cut through body tissue, while also suturing the body tissue along opposite sides of the cut line.
The use of surgical staplers in securing together body tissue has been found to be disadvantaged in that the punctures formed through the body tissue as the staples are inserted can become a starting point for a tear developing in the stapled body tissue. As a result, the typical surgical stapler has been modified to include some type of reinforcement material that is also stapled to the body tissue as the surgical staples are dispensed from the stapler.
In one example of reinforcement material that is used with a surgical stapler, the reinforcement material is designed as a tape with an adhesive on one side. The adhesive adheres the reinforcement material to the surgical stapler. As surgical staples are dispensed from the stapler, the staples peel away the reinforcement material from the surgical stapler and secure the reinforcement material along the line of sutures in the body tissue.
In other examples of the reinforcement material, a separate adhesive is used to adhere the reinforcement material to the surgical stapler. The reinforcement material is adhered to the stapler in a position where a staple being dispensed will pass through the reinforcement material and peel the material from the stapler. The staples secure the material to the sutured body tissue, and thereby the material reinforces the body tissue against tearing at the punctures formed by the surgical stapler.
However, the modification of surgical staplers to include a reinforcing material adhered to the surgical stapler has detracted from the primary purpose of the stapler, i.e., to facilitate the placement of a plurality of sutures in body tissue in a quick and reliable manner. The need to adhere the reinforcement material to the surgical stapler adds an additional preparatory step to using the stapler, and detracts from the ease of using the stapler. Furthermore, the adhesive holding the material to the stapler could be difficult to peel away from the stapler, making it difficult to dispense the staples.
What is needed to overcome this disadvantage associated with the prior art surgical staplers is an apparatus and method of removably holding a reinforcement material adjacent the staple dispensing member of a surgical stapler, where the reinforcement material is easily positioned on the stapler, and is easily removed from the stapler.